


Clone Academy

by AReadingNerd



Category: Clone High
Genre: Adult language limited to what is used in the show, F/M, Himbo JFK (Clone High), I'm British but these characters are American so I'll try to use American terms for things, JFK is adorable, No Smut, References to Sex, abe SUCKS, no graphic depictions of sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29557641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AReadingNerd/pseuds/AReadingNerd
Summary: It's a new school year. The clones have finally unfrozen. Scudworth has bought a new school to hide the clones from the Board of Shadowy Figures for good this time. Abe has decided that he is definitely in love with Joan, and Joan has decided that she will get over him. Can JFK provide some much-needed solace for Joan? How will everyone react to JFK' and Joan's prom night escapade? And will the Board of Shadowy Figures find a way to get the clones back?
Relationships: JFK & Joan of Arc (Clone High), JFK/Joan of Arc (Clone High)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	1. The Great Unfreezing

"...you!"

Abe gasped, his eyes taking in his environment. Stark white walls lined with what looked like hospital beds and curtains surrounded him; familiar-looking people lay on or stood next to them. 

"You're awake, Wesley."

"Ah, Mr Lincoln. That makes all of them, Mr B."

"Principal Scudworth, where am I?" Abe asked.

"Well, Mr Lincoln, you are at Clone Academy."

"Clone what?"

"Clone Academy! We had to relocate, but we couldn't keep the name. So, I decided to go with Clone Academy."

"But, Wesley, I came up with the name," Mr Butlertron interjected.

"Quiet, Mr B. Anyway, Mr Lincoln, Mr B will now check you over to ensure you can leave the recovery room," Scudworth said before walking to the next bed over. Abe looked and saw that it was Gandhi. He properly looked around the room and saw JFK, Cleo and Joan unconscious in their beds.  
Joan. 

"Open wide, Wesley," Mr Butlertron said before inserting a thermometer into Abe's mouth.  
\-----  
"You are all good to go. Mr Sheepman will show you to your room, Wesley," Mr Butlertron said after ten minutes of an invasive check-up. 

"Thanks, Mr Butlertron," Abe replied, walking towards the large doors leading into the hallway. As he exited the hospital room, he turned to look at Joan one more time and sighed. 

"Oh, Lincoln! I'm going to show you to your room and let you get settled in," Mr Sheepman grinned. 

"Thank you, Mr Sheepman."

"No problem!" As they made their way up the wooden staircase in the entrance hall, Mr Sheepman cleared his throat and spoke again. "So, Lincoln, you'll be having a roommate, so you're aware." 

"Who's gonna be my roommate?"

"It looks like it'll be Mr Kennedy. You guys are friends, right?"

"Yup, great friends," Abe lied. Kennedy. The guy who slept with Cleo, and now Joan, too. Can't he leave one girl for me? Abe thought. 

"So, this is your room. I hope you find it comfortable!"

"Thanks, Mr Sheepman," Abe said as his teacher left. He looked at the room in front of him. Two twin beds separated by a large dresser took up most of the room. Two suitcases lay on the floor. Nothing else occupied the space, and as JFK hadn't woken up yet, Abe picked the bed furthest from the door. He turned to the suitcases and opened the one with his name on the label. Clothes, books and a few framed photographs were the contents, which Abe unpacked and arranged in his half of the drawers and wall space.  
\-----  
"Hey, er, Lincoln." A familiar voice spoke behind Abe, who hadn't bothered to shut the door. 

"Oh, Kennedy. Hi," Abe said scathingly. 

"What's, er, crawled up your ass? All I did was say 'hey'," JFK responded, brow furrowed. 

"You know what you did," Abe said, turning away from him. 

"Er, okay? If you'll excuse me, I need to, uh, get to my suitcase. I wanna change out of this tuxedo, if that's, uh, alright with you?" JFK said sarcastically. Abe sat huffily on his bed, allowing JFK to access his belongings. He stared at the wall as his roommate took off his jacket and changed into his trademark red polo shirt and beige slacks. "You gonna change, Lincoln?"

"Uh, yeah. I was about to do that when you came in, but you hogged the dresser for so long I had to wait," Abe snapped.

"Okay, well, I'm, uh, going to go see if Of Arc is doing okay. She might still be a little sore."

"Yeah, go ahead, Kennedy, rub it on my face that you slept with her!"

"I meant because she'd been, uh, frozen for God-knows how long, Lincoln. Calm down!"

"Oh. Yeah." JFK left Abe alone, thinking about Joan and JFK together. Having been frozen almost immediately after seeing them in bed together, he hadn't had much time to contemplate the two of them. But now he had plenty of time, and it made him madder and madder every second that he dwelled on it. After he had finished changing, Abe decided he couldn't stay in the little box he had to share with JFK. So, not knowing where anything was in this new school, he went back to the recovery room. Maybe Joan would be awake and waiting for him.  
\-----  
Joan stirred, rubbing her eyes and stretching. She felt stiff. 

"Ah, Miss Of Arc, you're awake too!"

"Hi, Mr Scudworth. Where am I?"

"Clone Academy, Miss Of Arc."

"Oh, you relocated us after we were all frozen, but for legal reasons, you couldn't keep the name, so you changed 'High' to 'Academy'?"

"Uh, yes, pretty much," MR Scudworth said, sounding disappointed that he couldn't rattle off his ingenious plan once again.

"I changed the name, actually, Wesley," Mr Butlertron interjected again.

"Be quiet, Mr B!" 

"Good decision, Mr B."

"Thank you, Wesley!"

"Oh, Joan. You're awake. How are you, er, doing?" Joan turned to her left and saw JFK standing next to her bed looking slightly anxious.

"Um, hi, JFK. I'm okay. A bit stiff, but okay. What about you?"

"I'm, er, great! I'm glad that you are, uh, feeling good."

"Thanks, Kennedy," Joan smiled. JFK grinned back. 

"Joan! You're awake!" Abe cried from the other end of the room. JFK rolled his eyes as he hurried over. "How are you? I was so worried."

"I'm fine, Abe," Joan replied coldly. 

"All I've been able to think about since I woke up was you. I love you, Joan Of Arc."

"What the hell, Abe?!" Joan snarled.

"What?" Abe said, taken aback by Joan's sudden aggression.

"You completely ignored my feelings for you for sixteen years, dated Cleopatra and talk about it nonstop in front of me, ask me for advice and then only start to take any notice of me after Cle makes me look like a whore! You only actually found me interesting after I agreed to go to prom with JFK, then interrupted and tried to make me feel guilty for sleeping with someone who wasn't you! You can't put me through all that and then declare your love for me!"

"But... but, Joan-"

"No, Abe. Just go," Joan said, wearily. "Please."

"Fine! I'll go." Joan watched him walk away with his head down before she tore her eyes from him and turned towards JFK. 

"Are you, uh, okay?" he asked her tentatively. 

"I'll be fine."

"Wesley, I need to give you a check-up."

"Oh, sure, Mr Butlertron."

"I'll, uh, give you some privacy, Joan." JFK said awkwardly, stepping away from her bed.

"Thanks, JFK." Joan smiled at him as he pulled together the curtains around her bed.  
\-----  
"I, er, asked Mr Sheepman where your room is. Do you want me to, uh, show you?" JFK asked Joan when Mr Butlertron opened the curtains. 

"Yeah. I'd like that," Joan smiled at JFK's nervous face. 

"Well then, follow me." He bowed and nearly toppled over in the process. Joan giggled as she caught his arm and steadied him. They approached the stairs together in comfortable silence and were on the first step when JFK spoke again. 

"So, er, you have a roommate."

"Oh, who is it?" Joan asked.

"Charlotte Brontë."

"Oh. I was expecting it to be Cleo. You know, cause we used to live together. I'm not complaining though, Charlotte's nice, and I still don't think Cleo really likes me."

"Yeah, I, er, was just as surprised as you are. And you can, uh, ignore that Cleopatra broad. She's, uh, not that great of a person." Joan smiled at him.

"So, does everyone have a roommate?" she asked.

"I, er, uh, think so."

"Who's yours?"

"Lincoln."

"Oh, you poor thing. Abe's such a jerk!"

"Yeah, he's the, uh, worst!"

"Kennedy?"

"Jack." 

"Huh?"

"You can, uh, call me Jack, if you want."

"Oh, um. Jack, I'd like to say thank you for prom night."

"Yeah, I was great, wasn't I!" JFK laughed.

"No, Jack. Well, yes, but I was talking about comforting me about Abe."

"Oh, er, uh, I wanted to make you feel better. Lincoln shouldn't have the power to make you feel like he did. You, er, deserve better, Joan."

"Thanks, Jack. That means a lot to me."

"Er, uh, don't mention it."

"Seriously, Jack. Thank you." Joan smiled as he blushed.

"This is, uh, your, er, room."

"Thanks. I'll see you later?"

"Er, uh, yeah. Sure." He smiled. "See you later, Joan."

"Bye, Jack." Joan considered kissing his cheek but decided against it. She didn't want to be too forward. She was pleasantly surprised when he took her hand in his and squeezed it before heading back to his room. She smiled to herself before turning the doorknob and entering the room. Hopefully, this year would be a bit better than the last.


	2. Same Old Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first day at the clone's new school. How will everyone adjust to the change of scene with the same old faces? And what on earth is Scudworth planning?

"Attention Clone Hi- Clone Academy students! This is Principal Scudworth, with some reminders for your first day. The first day of school is upon us! Fail to follow the rules or succeed in class, and the consequences will be... unfortunate. The school rules have not changed since last year, so I expect you all to follow them. Breakfast will end at 8 am, so get to the cafeteria quickly! Good luck with your lessons, and good day to you all!"

Joan walked down to the cafeteria, surrounded by students gossiping. What there was to talk about, she had no idea. They'd only been unfrozen two days ago, after all. People will turn anything into drama if they can, she thought. 

As she entered the cafeteria behind Julius Caesar and Catherine the Great, she spotted JFK sitting at a table. He was surrounded by people, obviously, but there was a notably vacant seat on his right. Looking around, Joan saw Gandhi sitting with Abe, among others, and she couldn't see Cleo anywhere. After collecting her oatmeal from the lunch ladies (were they lunch ladies since they made every meal for them?), she mustered up her courage, and she strode confidently over to JFK's table and tapped him on the shoulder. 

"JFK, do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Er, uh, of course not," he said as he shuffled over to the left slightly to give Joan more room to sit. She smiled at him and set her tray down before swinging her legs over the bench. Realising she wasn't friends with anyone else at this table, Joan started to feel a bit awkward and wished she'd gone to sit by herself. 

"Hey, er, Joan. Watch this!" JFK got her attention before knocking his spoon of oatmeal into the air. It seemed he had tried to knock it into his mouth, but it hit him in the cheek instead. JFK turned red as it slid slowly down his cheek. 

"Oh, Jack, you klutz," Joan fondly said as she wiped his cheek with her napkin. He grinned sheepishly at her. 

"Oh my God, JFK, you're, like, so funny," Catherine the Great laughed. She got her napkin and attempted to reach across the table to wipe his shirt, even though Joan had prevented any oatmeal from going further than his jaw. While doing this, she knocked over Joan's glass of orange juice. The result of this was juice went all over Joan's favourite green pants. 

"Ew, Joan. Did you wet yourself?" Cleo hissed as she passed by her. Joan hadn't noticed her come in and was surprised and hurt by her comment. After the makeover, she had believed she and Cleo were becoming friends. 

If Joan hadn't been attempting to hide her face from the people laughing at her, she would have noticed that Cleo wasn't wearing any makeup, and her hair wasn't perfectly flat-ironed like it usually was. In fact, Cleo didn't look anything like she usually did. She was wearing a baggy grey t-shirt and black leggings, her nails were chipped and looked like she'd bitten them, and she was wearing sneakers. It was almost unheard of for Cleo to wear flats, but nobody seemed to notice or care. 

"Hey, er, Cleo. Leave her, uh, alone! Come on, Joan. Let's, uh, get you a fresh pair of pants," JFK shot Cleo a dirty look before taking Joan's arm and pulling her gently out of the room. 

Across the cafeteria, Abe scowled as he watched JFK leading Joan out the door. 

"Hey, buddy, you good?" Gandhi asked. 

"No, I'm not good! I finally realise I have feelings for Joan, and now she decides to fawn over JFK. That guy ruins everything for me, she knows that!" 

"Well, dude, she liked you for a while, and you always ignored her feelings. She's finally allowing herself to move on, so maybe you should too."

"But I don't want her to move on! I want her to like me."

"Um, Abe," Marie Curie piped up. "I think that if Joan doesn't like you, then you can't force her too. You should just let her go if you care about her." 

"No! I like her, and she likes me. She'll come around."

"Abe, could you stop being rude to my girlfriend, dude? All she did was say that Joan doesn't owe you anything. You are aware that she's her own person, right?"

"Whatever, Gandhi. If you're going to take her side, maybe you should go and eat with her instead!"

"Maybe I will, man. Joan seems a lot more chill than you do nowadays."

"Fine! Take your stupid girlfriend with you! I'm leaving!" Abe shouted. He got up so violently that his tray went flying and hit Marie squarely in the face. Abe didn't notice as he was already stomping towards the door. 

\-----

"I got the seaweed, Wesley," Mr Butlertron said as he wheeled into Principal Scudworth's office brandishing a large bag. 

"Excellent, Mr B! That'll do splendidly for getting monosodium glutamate!" Scudworth threw his head back and cackled. "Now, can you put it over in that corner? We need to find somewhere that sells these parts," he said while picking up a pile of blueprints on his desk.

\-----

"Thanks for sticking up for me, Jack," Joan said as she searched her dresser for a new pair of pants and some clean underwear. "And for walking me back to my room."

"Hey, er, don't worry about it. I, er, uh, was only doing what any decent guy would do." They looked at each other and smiled before Joan felt herself blushing and looked away. "So, er, do you need some help getting changed?" 

"You had to ruin a nice moment, didn't you, Kennedy?" Joan said, but there was no malice in her voice. She was smiling. After severing her ties with Abe, Joan spent the two days preceding the first day of school with JFK or by herself. It didn't take long for her to get used to his inappropriate jokes, and she'd even started making them back. 

"Do you want me to, er, leave while you change?" Jack asked her.

"Nah, it's nothing you haven't seen before," she replied without thinking. The pair of them blushed, thinking about prom night. Joan thought about what Jack had said to her before she decided to sleep with him. A real knock-out Betty, he'd called her. A better Betty when she's just herself. He'd put his arm around her before making some stupid joke about Abe. Joan remembered sitting in silence for a while, comfortable silence. She'd never had that with Abe, as he talked non-stop. She remembered shivering and Jack giving her his tuxedo jacket. Then he'd placed his hand on her cheek and smiled. He had leaned in tentatively, and she'd reciprocated. Their lips met in the middle, a sweet and tender kiss that Joan would never forget. Things had escalated after that, but it was the initial kiss that made her blush. 

A sharp bell rang throughout the school, and Joan realised she was still only half-dressed. 

"Crap!" she exclaimed while frantically stuffing her feet through the legs of her back-up pants.

"Hey, uh, it's only the, uh, first bell. I'm, er, sure you'll make it to class on time."

"No, I have to be early! I need to find a good seat next to..." Joan stopped abruptly. Last year, in homeroom, Abe had sat next to Gandhi instead of her because she had to go to the bathroom and got there slightly late. For all of her other classes with him, Joan made sure she was early so she wouldn't miss her opportunity. But she didn't want to sit near Abe this year. "Jack?"

"Er, uh, yes, Joan?"

"Can I, uh, sit next to you in homeroom?"

"Sure. Do you, er, wanna get a window seat?" he grinned sheepishly.

"I can't see any reason why not." Joan straightened out her shirt and checked her hair in the mirror. "Let's go."

\-----

"Good morning, class. As you all know, I'm Mr Sheepman, your kindly history teacher and first, mostly, human clone."

"Spliced in a little, er, sheep DNA, which, you know, uh, is fine with me," JFK whispered to Joan, causing her to giggle. It was a yearly rite of passage for Mr Sheepman to give the same speech about being part sheep every year, so most students knew it by heart. 

"You can't even tell, Mr Sheepman," Joan whispered back, in a surprisingly accurate impression of Abe. Almost as if he could read her mind, Abe piped up and said it too. JFK and Joan clapped their hands over their mouths to stifle their giggles. 

"Miss Of Arc, care to repeat what you just said to the whole class?" Mr Sheepman called from the front of the classroom.

"Well, that seems kinda pointless, Mr Sheepman, given that Lincoln over there already said it," Joan said bluntly. A collective gasp from the students made Joan realise what she'd just said. 

"Well, Miss Of Arc, if you like talking back so much, you can talk to Principal Scudworth about your punishment for disrupting my class," Mr Sheepman said, arms folded in disapproval.

"Hey, er, Sheepy, it was, uh, me who was talking to Joan, not the other way round. If you are, uh, gonna send someone to the Principal's office, it should be me." All eyes swivelled from Joan to JFK, looks of mingled amusement and shock on almost every face.

"Well, then Kennedy, you can accompany your little girlfriend to see Principal Scudworth." Abe ground his teeth when Mr Sheepman called Joan JFK's girlfriend. The thought made him sick. He felt worse when JFK squeezed Joan's hand surreptitiously after they had passed Mr Sheepman, especially when Joan smiled and didn't let go.

\-----

"So, Miss Of Arc, Mr Kennedy, you think it's funny to mock your teachers, hmm?" Principal Scudworth asked with his hands folded on top of the desk.

"Er, uh, am I supposed to say no?" JFK replied. Joan attempted to cover her laugh by coughing. 

"While it may be hilarious to make fun of your teachers and peers, the school rules dictate that you must show respect to one another at all times. So, I have no choice but to send you to the new Death Maze!"

Joan and JFK felt the floor beneath their chairs slip away as they fell onto an airbag, no doubt Mr Butlertron's doing. 

"Do you, er, think this maze will be similar to the, uh, old one?" JFK's voice called out in the darkness. 

"I hope so. I was good at getting out of that one." Joan replied. She jumped when she felt a hand brush against hers and yelped in fright. 

"Er, uh, sorry!" JFK exclaimed. "I was, er, looking for a wall to hold on to."

"Don't worry," Joan sighed, relieved that it was only Jack. While she was used to the old Death Maze, the darkness still freaked her out. "Jack, could you, er-"

"You wanna hold hands?" Jack asked smugly. 

"Just so I don't get lost," Joan said stubbornly. 

"Sure. Where are you?"

"I'm over here."

"That's, uh, not helping. I, er, uh, can't see!"

"Sorry, right, yes. I'll stay where I am, you come and find me."

"Alright. I'll, er, be right over."

"...Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"That's not my hand."

"Oh, er, sorry." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh! I love Joan and JFK together! A lot of this was just Joan and JFK being soft for each other, as well as Abe-hate because Abe sucks. I did improvise some of the first kiss bit, as we don't actually see that, but it's how I picture it happening. Do you have a guess for why Scudworth needs the seaweed? Please comment if you do, I'd love to see your theories. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Edit: I wrote the beginning of the next chapter, which was meant to start in Principal Scudworth's office, but it's not very long so I added it to the end of this one. :)


	3. I Don't Want To Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big Hallowe'en dance is right around the corner, and JFK still hasn't asked Joan. The thing is, Joan doesn't want to go, but still can't figure out why JFK hasn't asked her. Also, this chapter has some Cleo and Joan being nice to each other, so look forward to that :)

A month had gone by at Clone Academy, and Hallowe'en was just around the corner. Principal Scudworth had created some strange machine that decorated the school's halls and classrooms; some of the decorations were quite odd, though. Namely, the 12-foot-tall skeleton in the school's courtyard. 

Usually, JFK had four or five girls going with him as dates to a school dance. But now he only really wanted to go with Joan, although he felt something he'd never about a girl before: nervous. Sure, he'd felt nervous before cross-country meets, football games, and basketball games, but talking to girls was always something he could do without issue. He knew Joan liked simple things. She would prefer small, intimate gatherings of people she knew and liked over large parties full of alcohol and loud music. He knew she'd probably be happy with a simple "Hey, er, Joan, would you, uh, go to the, er, prom with me?" But he couldn't help but worry that she'd say no. JFK wasn't used to rejection, and Joan was the only girl who had ever turned him down. He didn't know if he could handle her rejecting him again, and he couldn't understand why it was such a big deal for him. 

Meanwhile, Joan was beginning to worry that JFK wouldn't ask her at all. Maybe she'd exaggerated his feelings for her in her head. Perhaps he was just friendly. Worst of all, what if JFK pitied her and only hung out with her because she'd stopped being friends with Abe? Sure, he'd made sure everyone at their table left the seat on his right available for Joan. But maybe he kept that specific seat open for her so he wouldn't have to look at her properly and face other people? Her spot was right at the end of the bench, after all. Did he suggest she get a window seat so she'd be distracted by what's going on outside the classroom and he could ignore her? Joan desperately needed to confide in someone about how she was feeling, but apart from Jack, she had no-one. Cleo refused to talk to her in class, and Joan never saw her at meals. Having no other option, Joan decided to seek out Mr Butlertron. 

\-----

"Hello, Wesley."

"Hi, Mr Butlertron. Can I come in?" Joan stood outside Principal Scudworth's office, arms folded, chewing her lip nervously. 

"No! I'm busy," a voice called out from under a sheet in the middle of the room. 

"How about we go to the kitchen? I can get you some tea, Wesley," Mr Butlertron said. 

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Joan replied, smiling slightly. 

They went through the kitchen doors in the cafeteria, and Joan found a stool to sit on while Mr Butlertron made tea. 

"So, Wesley, what's on your mind?" Mr Butlertron asked as he set the kettle on to boil. 

"Oh, Mr Butlertron. I think I'm getting feelings for Ja- JFK, and I want to go to the Hallowe'en dance with him, but he hasn't asked me yet. What if he doesn't like me the way I like him?" Joan sighed.

"Maybe he's too nervous to ask and wants to do it in the right way?" Mr Butlertron suggested as he set a mug on the counter and putting a teabag in it. 

"I don't want some elaborate proposal, I don't even really wanna go to the dance. But if Jack does, I wanna go with him," Joan said defeatedly. 

"Maybe you should tell him you don't want to go and that you would prefer to spend the evening with him, Wesley." Mr Butlertron handed Joan her mug of tea and placed a sugar pot and milk jug on the counter next to her. 

"But what if he wants to go, or-" Joan struggled to voice the fear she'd been harbouring for days. "What if he wants to go, but with someone else?"

"You'll never know until one of you asks the other, and if he doesn't soon, you might have to, Wesley." 

"You're right, Mr Butlertron. I'll talk to him tonight."

"Maybe you could offer to help him with his Math homework, so you have a reason to chat. Also, he is failing Math," Mr Butlertron offered. 

"Good idea. I'll ask Jack at dinner if he wants to study in my room. Charlotte Brontë said she'll be hanging out with the other Brontë sisters tonight." 

"Okay, Wesley. I have to go, or I'll be scrap metal. Hahaha."

"Bye, Mr Butlertron. Thank you!" Joan sipped her tea and immediately burned the roof of her mouth. "Ow!"

\-----

"Marie, will you be my date to the Hallowe'en dance on Saturday?" 

"Oh, Gandhi. Of course!"

Abe rolled his eyes as he walked past Marie Curie and Gandhi while they made out in the middle of the courtyard against the giant skeleton. 

"Hallowe'en dance," he scoffed to himself. "Who needs it?" He had decided to stay in his room the night of the dance and do homework. Why waste time and energy going to a school dance alone? Although he reasoned with himself, he wouldn't mind going with Joan. 

Abe entered the cafeteria for dinner. His eyes were drawn to Joan and JFK laughing together at their usual table. He stalked over to the lunch line, head held high, trying to ignore the fact that Joan's hand was resting on JFK's arm. Not looking where he was going, he accidentally knocked into Cleo, causing them both to topple over. 

"Look where you're going, idiot," Cleo said, rubbing her head, eyes shut in pain. 

"What are you doing down here anyway? You never show up at mealtimes!" Abe cried as he massaged his elbows. 

"Cleo, are you okay?" Joan had rushed over from her table after seeing the collision. 

"I'm fine, Joan. No thanks to Abe. I'll just go back upstairs." Cleo got to her feet and dusted herself off before striding out the cafeteria doors. 

Joan glared at Abe before hurrying after her, "Cleo, wait!" 

Abe tried to stand up but fell over his own feet. He heard laughter and looked up to see JFK's table full of people pointing at him, mocking him. 

If Abe hadn't been so annoyed and embarrassed, he might have noticed JFK hadn't joined in and was instead looking at the doors Joan had just run through. He had been working up the nerve to aks Joan to go to the dance with him and had been about to when Lincoln went ahead and ruined it. Jack contemplated following Joan but decided against it. She'd been talking about needing to speak to Cleo for a while. Now Joan finally had the opportunity, and he didn't want to ruin that. He finished his food in silence and left to go and get ready to study with Joan, predicting that she would be late. 

\-----

"Cleo, please slow down!" Joan cried, clutching a stitch in her side. She had followed Cleo all the way up to her room on the top floor; Cleo had run the entire way. 

"Leave me alone, Joan!" Cleo called back as she pulled her door open and darted inside. Joan stuck her foot in the way of the door and forced her way into the room. Catherine-the-Great's side was immaculate, neat and tidy with a glass of water next to her bed. Or maybe vodka? Joan wouldn't put it past her to find a way to sneak some in. Cleo's, on the other hand, was a mess. What looked like orange juice had left a large stain on Cleo's unmade bed, and clothes and scrunched-up balls of paper littered around it. 

"Joan, get out!"

"No, Cleo! I'm concerned about you, you haven't spoken to me for nearly a month. You haven't shown up to meals for ages, and apart from during class, no one ever sees you. What happened?" 

"Don't act like you don't know!" Cleo yelled, fury blazing in her eyes. "Don't act all innocent and concerned! You know exactly what happened and what you did!"

"No, I don't, Cleo," Joan replied fearfully. "I'm sorry, but I really don't."

"Abe is what happened! Abe and you together! I was ready to sleep with him, then he starts calling me 'Joan' and decides he's in love with you! Then he runs off to find you, leaving me naked and alone in the same bed you had sex with JFK in! So not only did I end up being dumped on prom night, but you also slept with my ex while my other ex was running around trying to confess his feelings for you. So, Joan, can you understand why I haven't wanted to be around you?" Cleo let out that last word in a whisper as she collapsed onto her bed, head in her hands. 

"I-I'm sorry, Cleo. I didn't know Abe dumped you, especially not in such an awful way. I thought you broke up with him. And I'm sorry that I slept with Ja-JFK without consulting you, but I thought you were over him. And at the time, I thought you and Abe were still together. I was hurt because Abe kept choosing you over me, and I'd been in love with him since pre-school. I just wanted to get him off my mind, and JFK offered me the distraction I desperately needed. I'm sorry, Cleo, really I am." Joan sat down on Catherine's bed, not quite daring to sit next to Cleo. "Why haven't you been coming to meals, Cleo?"

"Mr Butlertron's been bringing me meals so I would only have to leave my room for class. He's a real sweetie." Cleo lifted her head as she spoke and a faint smile tugged at her lips. 

"He is, isn't he?" Joan reminisced on how kind Mr Butlertron had been that day. 

"Joan?"

"Yeah?"

"I saw you and JFK in the cafeteria. Are you guys, um, dating?" asked Cleo. 

"No, no we're not," Joan replied, slightly sadly. 

"But you want to date him, right?" Cleo said perceptively. 

"Um..."

"You can say yes. I'm- I'm fine with you guys being together. Jack and I are just friends. I'm over him. And by the looks of it, he's over me too." Cleo smiled and looked Joan in the eyes. 

"Thanks, Cleo. That means a lot to me." Joan gasped suddenly. "Crap, I have to meet Jack! I'm meant to help him with his Math homework."

"He's still failing?" Cleo raised an eyebrow at her as Joan pushed herself off the bed. 

"Yup," Joan said, hurrying to the door before turning back. "I'm sorry, Cleo, I didn't even think to ask. Do you want-" 

"You don't have to stay with me out of pity."

"No, I was going to ask if you wanted to join us?" Joan smiled. 

"No, I'm fine, Joan. I promise. But," Cleo hesitated. "Do you think I could join you guys at breakfast tomorrow?" 

"Yeah, we have an empty seat. Are you sure you don't wanna join us?"

"Positive. Go have fun doing Math with JFK. I'll be fine here. Mr Butlertron'll be here with my dinner in a minute, and I want to speak to him. He's like a therapist."

"I know, right? Anyway, I'll see you at breakfast, Cleo. Bye!" Joan rushed out of the door, and Cleo heard her chunky boots thumping along the corridor and down the stairs. 

\-----

Joan had re-arranged the furniture in her' and Charlotte's room so she and Jack could both fit at her desk and work together. 

"So, er, uh, if y is, uh, 3 then x is, er, uh, -9?" Jack asked.

"No, Jack, it's 5." Joan laughed as JFK grinned sheepishly. She pulled his sheet of paper towards her and checked his writing. "Jack, you've just been doodling stick people in the margins."

"Sorry, uh, I couldn't concentrate with you, uh, here." JFK rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Oh, do you want me to leave then?" Joan asked dejectedly, looking at her hands on the desk.

"No, no, no! I, er, uh, meant that, uh, you distract me, but, er, in a good way," JFK tried desperately to save the situation. 

Joan laughed. "Is there such a thing as a good distraction?"

"Er, uh, maybe?" 

"Jack, I, uh, I wanna ask you something."

"Sure. What is it, Joan?"

Joan shifted in her chair, so she was parallel to JFK. She looked him dead in the eyes and took a deep breath in. Seeing how nervous she was, he held her hands in his and smiled. Joan returned his smile and said, "Jack, I don't want to go to the dance."

"What?" JFK retracted his hands, hurt. He had been expecting her to ask him to the dance, hopefully as a date, but he felt like she'd just broken up with him, even though they weren't dating. "Why would you, uh, invite me here just to tell me that, er, you don't want to spend time with me anymore?"

"No, no, Jack! You misunderstood. I don't want to go to the dance with anyone. I want to spend the night with you, away from everyone else. They'll all be in the cafeteria, and you and I can sneak up to the roof or something and spend time together." Joan retook Jack's hands in hers, tilting his chin up with her index finger so he'd look her in the eyes, and smiled. 

"Er, uh, really?" 

"Really. I hated prom, so much drama and angst about who's going with who, who's wearing what. I just wanna hang out with people I like. If you wanna go to the dance, I'll go too, if you, uh, want me to. But I'd prefer to just spend the night alone with you."

"Well then, Joan, would you do me, ha, the honour of not going to the dance with me?" he said as he got down on one knee, grinning. 

"Oh, Jack, yes, yes, a thousand times yes." Joan placed her hand on her forehead and feigned swooning, placing her hand in JFK's outstretched palm. Jack kissed her hand, making her jump slightly, before Charlotte burst in with her sisters, causing Jack to fall over in surprise. 

"Sorry, I forgot you were here, Joan. We'll go to Emily's room. Bye!"

"Bye, Charlotte! Don't miss curfew!" Joan called. "Are you alright, Jack?" She got out of her chair and knelt next to him. 

"Er, uh, yeah. I, er, don't bruise easy." 

Joan extended to hand to help him up, but he ended up pulling her over by accident. 

"Er, uh, sorry. Are you, uh, okay?" Jack asked. "Joan?"

Joan was bright red in the face and scrambled to get up. "Sorry, I forgot how strong you are," she mumbled. 

Jack laughed. "It's, uh, okay. Like I, er, uh, said, I, er, don't bruise easy."

"Shall we get back to Algebra?"

"Al Who?" 

Joan giggled. "Get up, Jack. This is due tomorrow, and you still haven't grasped the fact that there are letters in Math."

"Because they, uh, shouldn't be there! It's Math, you, uh, use numbers in Math, not letters." Jack protested. 

"Just sit down, Kennedy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, JoanFK is so cute! I like the idea of the two of them just chilling on a roof together and setting the world to right. Also, do you think I should do some kind of redemption arc for Abe because I've characterised him as a jerk, and I want to know if you enjoy that version of him where he just sucks, or if you want me to make him a better person by the end? Thanks for reading! :)


	4. Stargazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hallowe'en night has arrived. Joan's picked a costume, but what does JFK have in store for their first date?

October 31st, the spookiest night of the year, was approaching. It was the tradition at Clone High to dress up as your original self for Hallowe'en. But this year, the students of Clone Academy decided it was time for a change. Principal Scudworth, probably encouraged by Mr Butlertron, allowed the students to take an unchaperoned trip to the nearest town to pick out their costumes. The clones emptied almost every costume store within two hours. 

Joan had ignored the costume shops at first, instead focussing on buying bleach and hair dye to touch up her roots. However, she couldn't help but wander over to Ye Olde Hallowe'en Shoppe. Curious if all the costumes were Renaissance-themed or not, Joan entered the store.

Opening the door, she didn't see the suits of armour and swords she had expected, but instead an array of beautiful gowns. Right in the corner was a long black velvet dress with long sleeves ending in a point that she presumed would sit on her hand. A brimmed, pointed black hat sat on the mannequins head, and long lace-up boots stood next to her. Joan had found her costume. She wasn't going to the dance, but she'd be darned if anyone but she wore this dress tomorrow evening. 

After paying, she turned towards the exit to see JFK standing outside the windows, looking in at her. Seeing that she'd turned around, he grinned broadly and brandished the brown paper bag he was carrying. Joan returned his grin and hurried outside, costume bag swinging on her arm. 

"Hey, er, Joanie! I got you a, uh, pretzel! Thought you might be, uh, hungry after all your shopping." Jack faltered. Joan's eyes had filled with tears. "Do you, uh, not like pretzels? I, er, uh, can get you, uh, something else?"

"No, no, it's fine, Jack." Joan sniffed and wiped her eyes hastily. "I really like pretzels, thanks." She tried to smile. 

"Joan? Are you, uh, okay? I mean, uh, obviously you're, uh, not okay, but, er, can I help to make you feel better?" Jack placed a hand on Joan's should, and she responded by turning her self around and hugging him, burying her face in his chest. Without hesitation, Jack wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair. "There, there," he whispered. 

"Sorry," Joan sniffed. "It's just, Toots used to call me Joanie, and I haven't seen him for so long!" Joan's voice broke at the end of the sentence, and Jack pulled her in tighter. 

"I'm, er, sorry, Joan. I won't, uh, call you 'Joanie' anymore, if that's, er, what you, uh, want."

"You can call me something else if you want. I know I call you 'Jack', do you want a nickname for me?"

"I, er, uh, like 'Jo', maybe?" he suggested. 

"I like 'Jo' too." Joan lifted her head and smiled. 

They held each other's gaze for a second before Jack remembered the pretzels. 

"Would, uh, a little food make you feel, uh, better?" He grinned at her. When Joan nodded in reply, he walked over to a nearby bench and sat down, gesturing for her to do the same. They sat and ate their pretzels in comfortable silence for a while before Jack finished and turned to look at Joan. 

"What? Is there food on my face?" Joan asked. 

"Huh? No, no. I, er, uh, was just thinking." Jack responded.

"About what?"

"My dads. I, er, uh, just realised how much I, uh, missed them." Jack looked down at his shoes, hoping Joan didn't think he was stupid.

"Well, your dads raised you. Of course, you miss them. I miss Toots a whole lot." Joan smiled, rubbing Jack's arm. 

"Do you, uh, think Scudworth told our families what was, uh, happening?" Jack looked at Joan. 

"I'm sure Mr Butlertron made him," Joan said consolingly. She couldn't bear to think of Toots worrying about her, not knowing where she was. 

They sat for a while, thinking about their families back home. Could they even call Exclamation Point home anymore? 

\-----

"Whooooooooooo! Hallowe'en!" Gandhi shrieked in the cafeteria, swinging his shirt around in circles above his head. 

The day of the big dance had arrived, and Abe was resolute about not going. Joan had ignored him in the halls when he tried to ask her, so he'd resolved not to go. Maybe he'd catch up on homework or something. 

A sudden burst of laughter caught his attention, and he looked in the direction of the noise. Cleo and Joan, laughing raucously at one of JFK's dumb jokes, no doubt. Abe returned to his cornflakes, pushing them around the bowl with his spoon. He suddenly wasn't hungry. 

\-----

"Joan, you look beautiful!" Cleo said, sounding surprised. 

"Gee, thanks, Cleo." Joan rolled her eyes, then giggled. She twirled around, her skirt flaring out. She wore extensions in her hair to make it reach her waist, and her makeup was darker and more gothic than usual. 

"Sorry. But you look so- wow!" Cleo laughed. She was wearing a cat costume. Well, she said it was a cat costume. It was a short black leather skirt and black crop top with cat ears, fishnets, and draw-on whiskers. 

"So do you!" Joan smiled. It was nice to have Cleo as a friend, not a roommate or a nemesis. She'd never really had any friends outside of Abe and Gandhi, and she was only friends with Gandhi because he was friends with Abe. 

"I still can't believe you're not going to the dance." 

"Jack and I are going to take the night for ourselves and just hang out on the roof. He found a way up last week, so we'll be alone for a bit. No risk of Catherine the Great spilling vodka on my dress or hitting on Jack. Just we two." 

Cleo smiled. She was glad Jack was happy and happier that Joan had given up making herself miserable with Abe and enjoying hanging out with Jack. It was a bit hard at first, seeing her only real friend go off with her ex-boyfriend all the time, but she confided in Mr Butlertron, and he gave her perspective. 

"Come on, then, Joan. You've got a date."

\-----

"Er, uh, wow." Jack smiled as Joan approached him outside the janitor's closet. 

Joan smiled and took in JFK's costume. Dressed in his usual clothes but with what looked like horse ears and a tail, Jack took Joan's hand and led her through the door into the closet. He ascended the ladder and pushed open a trapdoor before clambering onto the roof. Then he extended his hand through the hole to allow Joan to grasp it and climb up. 

"Wow," sighed Joan. Because they were so far from the nearest town, light pollution was minimal, and they could see the Milky Way. "The stars are so beautiful, Jack." When he didn't reply, she turned to look at him. What she saw was a bench, a telescope and a table full of food set up for them to enjoy. 

"Er, uh, would you, er, like to, uh, sit down?" Jack rubbed the back of his neck. He was usually so confident with girls; why couldn't he string a sentence together? 

"Of course," Joan smiled. She sat down, admiring the perfect placement of the bench. It felt as though they could see the whole sky. 

"So, uh, Jo?" Jack looked at her. When she smiled, he carried on, "er, uh, do you, uh, know anything about the stars?" 

"Not really. I fell in love with them as a kid, but I knew Toots couldn't see them, and I felt bad talking about something so beautiful that he couldn't experience, so I never learned anything about them." Joan's smile became a little sadder. 

"So you don't, uh, know any, er, constellations, or anything?" 

"Nope."

"Okay, well. That is, uh, the Big Dipper, or the, er, Plough if you're, uh, from England," Jack said as he pointed to a cluster of stars. "And, uh, that is the Little Dipper, up there. And right on the, uh, end of it is the, er, North Star." 

"How do you know so much about stars constellations?" 

"Er, uh, believe me, this is, uh, nothing. My, er, dads are, uh, pretty huge astronomy nerds." Jack smiled at her. Then he saw Joan was shivering slightly and put his arm around her quickly. She moved closer to him, wondering how he radiated so much heat. 

"So, what's that star?" Joan pointed to their left. 

"That's, uh, Neptune."

"Oh." Jack chuckled, making Joan giggle in turn. "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"What is your costume meant to be?"

"Well, you, er, know how you call me, uh, Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"I, er, uh, thought it would be, uh, funny if I, er, went as a, uh, Jack-Ass," he indicated his ears and tail. He blushed, thinking that this joke wasn't as funny as he previously believed it to be. Relief washed over him as Joan laughed, and he Joan in. 

"You're silly," Joan said fondly. She moved closer to him as a gust of wind hit them, and she wasn't at all perturbed by the fact that she was now touching him. She moved in even closer and pressed against him. They both relaxed and took in the view of the night sky for a while. 

"Jo?" JFK broke the silence first. 

"Yeah?" 

"Do you want to, uh, look at the stars through the telescope?"

"Yes! I forgot that was up here," Joan jumped to her feet eagerly. Jack chuckled and stood up too. 

"Okay, uh, so what you, uh, wanna do is stand with your, uh, feet like this." Joan shifted her feet to mimic Jack's. "Yeah, and then, uh, bend over slightly." They both giggled, but Joan complied. "And, uh, now position the, er, telescope and put your right eye near to the lens. And, uh, close your left eye, too." Joan stared through the telescope, and Jack moved her gently to position her gaze onto Betelguese. 

"Why is it flashing red?" Joan asked, staring at the star blinking back at her. 

"It's uh, going to explode. It, uh, may already have, but, uh, we can't tell from Earth." Jack's stomach rumbled. "Oh, uh, sorry."

"Don't worry." Joan emerged from behind the telescope and smiled. "We can eat. I'm starving." They sat back down on the bench and stuffed their faces with sandwiches and Hallowe'en candy.

After about fifteen minutes, they leaned back, hands-on stomachs. Joan leaned against Jack, once again taking in the view. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, and she could see more stars now. 

"Jack?" 

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for this. It was nice to have you to myself, especially in such a gorgeous setting."

"Er, uh, yeah. It's even better when I've got such a knock-out Betty with me." They smiled at Jack's words, remembering prom night again. For all the horrible things Joan associated with it, she was at least glad of the opportunity it provided her to spend time with Jack. "Er, uh, Joan?"

"Yeah?" Joan turned to look at him this time, and so did he. 

"Do, uh, you think I could, uh, kiss you?"

"You definitely could. The question is will you?"

"I, er, uh, think I will." Jack tilted his head down, and Joan tilted hers up. They moved their faces closer together until their lips met in the middle. Jack shifted in his seat until he was fully facing Joan and cupped her cheek with his hand. She placed one hand on his shoulder, the other in his hair, and he rested his free hand on her waist. Jack felt a smile tugging at his lips as he realised just how happy a simple kiss could make him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely adore the idea of JFK teaching Joan things. A lot of interpretations of their relationship have Joan being the only one with any valuable or interesting knowledge to share, but I genuinely think Joan would love learning new things from JFK too. I also like the idea of young JFK staying up late with his dads stargazing and learning about astronomy from them. Please feel free to share any feedback in the comments :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I will try to update this fic on Friday evenings but bear in mind that I'm from the UK; it may be a different time for you. I'm sorry if I used any British terms for things. I know the show takes place in America, and I will incorporate American slang into my writing. Please leave any feedback you have in the comments, and thank you for reading!


End file.
